


Guardian

by Aladris



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, F/M, Partnership, Team Up, Two Shot, Unresolved Tension, Yorkshin City | Yorknew City Arc (Hunter X Hunter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-28 01:55:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30132249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aladris/pseuds/Aladris
Summary: Set during the Yorkshin Arc. Machi and Hisoka team up as the Ryodan sets out to besiege the Cemetery Building. The seamstress finds her predicament more than a little annoying, but it turns out there's more to Hisoka and their relationship than meets the eye.
Relationships: Hisoka/Machi (Hunter X Hunter)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 18





	1. September 3rd

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MyMisguidedFairytale](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyMisguidedFairytale/gifts).



> Dedicated to MyMisguidedFairytale because I love her hisomachi stories very much (and pariging, pitokai, etc, etc). Her fics are wonderfully immersive, making you feel like you're in the HxH world with the real characters! Seriously, her skills are scary. (Go read her [stories](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyMisguidedFairytale/pseuds/MyMisguidedFairytale/works?fandom_id=22959) now!!)
> 
> Hope you guys like it! Hunter x Hunter belongs to Togashi.

“Yo, Machi!”

The pinkette was currently trying as much as possible to ignore the annoying voice calling to her every few seconds. It had been, “Machi, look at this!” and “Hey Machi, over here!” for the last half hour. Torture so far, and this was barely even the start of the evening.

“Hisoka.” The petite but quite intimidating and very capable lady glanced over her shoulder, her stare all ice. “Either focus on the mission, or I’ll go it alone.” She faced forward once again. “Even if Danchou assigned us to complete it together.”

“Oh?” That voice had gotten much closer to her suddenly, rumbling right beside her ear. She had barely enough time to react, her hand flying up to grasp her partner around the neck threateningly. She could feel his pulse under her fingertips, strong and steady. It sped up a little during the short time they made contact, she was sensitive enough to tell.

“Going against Kuroro’s orders?” His warm breath fanned against her ear, making her own heart skip a bit faster. She scowled at the annoyance. “That’s so unlike you.”

She dug her nails into his skin a little deeper. Seeing the corner of his smirk in her periphery made Machi want to wipe the expression off Hisoka’s infuriating face. Out of his voice. “The mission takes top priority,” she growled at him. “So long as that’s completed, it’s still full loyalty to Danchou.”

She glared at him out of the corner of her cerulean eyes, while he appraised her with his golden ones, cat-like and predatory. There weren’t many people who were brave enough to confront Hisoka so directly and fearlessly. He was incredibly strong, after all.

After an interlude, Hisoka straightened up, backing away. Machi dropped her grip around his throat, shunning him once again by turning around. He promptly fell into step beside her, his movements graceful and gliding and purposeful. She let her gaze be repelled by his presence, her eyes searching out some distraction to the left, the countless shop windows they passed as they walked down the streets of Yorkshin’s premier shopping district.

“You’ll make me jealous, you know,” Hisoka stated matter-of-factly, rubbing his neck absently with the long fingers of his hand. The skin was red, marks shaped like the angry curl of the seamstress’ fingers. “Showing Kuroro such unwavering loyalty all the time. Don’t you ever think about how it makes  _ me _ feel?”

Her eye twitched at the pout in his smooth voice. “Like I give a fuck,” she bristled succintly.

Hisoka scowled at her, but his eyes were dancing with amusement. “Don’t swear, Machi. It’s not becoming of you.”

_ “Fuck. _ You,” she enunciated very carefully, making sure to put a special emphasis on the first syllable.

The magician was wearing a full-out grin now, clearly enjoying himself and the other’s company. “Forget what I said then. I just realized,” his voice pitched lower, like rich velvet, “it’s actually a huge turn on.”

Knowing that it was completely useless to keep talking to the guy, Machi didn’t respond. Either way, one couldn’t easily win against Hisoka. Maybe that was why it was so frustrating to deal with him. Because he was a jerk, and he had a hobby in toying with others. But no one could do much about it because he was one of the strongest. Smart and wily too, self-preserving and incredibly selfish. Machi rolled her eyes at her internal reflections, not knowing why she was even bothering to think of Hisoka, to spend an iota of her brain power analysing the jerk.

“I was trying to get your attention for a good reason, you know,” Hisoka continued, completely unbothered by receiving the silent treatment from his teammate. “Aren’t you hungry? We’ve been at this for hours already.”

“Half an hour,” she prickled disagreeably at his exaggeration.

“Exactly. Aren’t you starving yet?” As if to prove his point, a loud rumble emitted from his stomach. Machi had to wonder if he had somehow gained the ability to control such bodily functions, which were usually unconscious. Everything this guy did was purely for show, wasn’t it?

“We have a job to do,” she reminded him for the umpeenth time. “Focus. You can eat dinner afterwards.”

She felt it and unconsciously reacted to it, flinching away just the slightest amount. But even though he gave her enough time to avoid, she somehow found herself allowing it. A hand on her shoulder, light and almost dainty like wings of a dove alighting on the branch of a tree. She stopped, looking at Hisoka warily as he came to a standstill. 

“Villains need to eat too,” he said to her knowingly. His golden eyes weren’t harsh, backlit by the glow of the city lights surrounding them.

“Is that how you think of yourself?” she countered him distastefully. “Isn’t it a little egocentric?”

“To think of myself as the bad guy?” he asked her, eyes tracking her every movement. Machi refused to allow herself to show any sign of uncertainty under his surveillance. Even as she felt perspiration prickling on her brow. “What would you call me then, dearest?”

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped, finally shrugging off his touch. She did it more out of annoyance though, than of actually being repelled by the contact. Her skin emanated warmth where Hisoka’s palm had cradled the round of her shoulder. 

He smiled at her. “Wait for me? Please?” He hiked a thumb over his shoulder, gesturing to a food cart some meters away. “It’ll only take a minute.”

She sighed, waving him off. “Do what you like,” she relented, finding that she didn’t really care much either way. They could always quicken their pace if Hisoka’s antics turned out to set them back too much.

While he went to get something to eat, Machi gazed absently at the storefront they had stopped in front of. It was a jewelry store with a dizzying array of gems on display -- protected, no doubt, behind a very thick pane of fiberglass. Like any thief, the seamstress found herself attracted by the gaudy and blatant display of wealth. She stepped closer to the glass, imagining she could almost feel the warmth of the display lights on her face.

As her eyes flitted from piece to piece, she began to feel desensitized to the beauty of the gemstones, her mind absently wondering how much each piece might fetch for if sold on the black market. It was simply a habit, to think this way. As a member of the Genei Ryodan, she had stolen much but rarely for her individual benefit. Some of her teammates took what they liked quite liberally, but Machi rarely found motivation to steal unless it was an organization-wide job. One might even call it selfless but… there was an undeniable hypocrisy in that.

As she worked her way down the display, tallying an astronomical sum in her mind, she wondered if it might be worthwhile to put this place on the Ryodan’s hit list when suddenly, her thoughts came to a complete standstill. Her cerulean eyes lighted on a pair of earrings at the end of the window. They were teardrop-shaped and made of a translucent gemstone with a bluish tint, hanging from a curved hook of silver. The design was simple, yet obviously the stone was diamond of the highest quality. It was hard to describe exactly what was so beautiful about the earrings to the female, but what makes something beautiful to one person is often different to another. She couldn’t help but stare at the fine pieces, the mental sum she’d been tallying up to that point completely forgotten.

“Machi.” The flat of Hisoka’s palm touched the small of her back in a whisper, grabbing her attention. She blinked at her partner who had returned to her, offering her something in his outstretched hand.

She raised an eyebrow, looking at the offering disdainfully. “A hot dog?”

His eyes crinkled at the corners, mouth full, already working through his own. “Romantic, isn’t it?”

She couldn’t help the small smirk that fell onto her lips, accepting the hot dog from Hisoka. The tin foil crinkled in her grip. “Hardly,” she said, her voice dripping sardonically.

“It was the most expensive thing on the menu,” Hisoka defended himself, chuckling and earning him a rare huff of amusement from the seamstress. The magician then glanced over her shoulder, eyes falling on the jewelry display with mild interest. “Anything catch your eye?”

She turned back to the display, gaze sweeping over the entire thing with mild regret, feigning disinterest. “Not really -- ”

“These earrings are sort of nice,” Hisoka said, bending down to be at eye level with said objects. The ones Machi had been admiring earlier. He glanced at her with a piercing look. “Aren’t they?”

Her elevated mood evaporated instantly. She took a vicious bite of the hot dog Hisoka had purchased for her, scowling. “And? What’s your point?”

“So defensive,” he cooed, his smile deepening with that of her scowl. “I simply wanted to know your opinion on them.”

“They’re nice,” she said, her voice clipped as she stomped away from the display, away from the beautiful, magnificent earrings, and away from her asshole of a teammate.

Hisoka easily fell into step beside her once again, picking up where they left off. “Shall we raid the store? It’ll only take a minute.”

Another bite of her hot dog. “No.”

“But we’re of the Ryodan, remember? We take what we want.” Their eyes met, golden ones seeking something from his icy companion’s. “‘We reject nothing, so take nothing from us.’”

Something about those words… the Ryodan’s very creed, something almost sacred to her, coming from Hisoka’s mouth -- it made a shiver run down Machi’s spine. She quickened her pace, leaving the magician to catch up to her without warning. He did so effortlessly.

“We’ll be late,” was the only response she gave, her cool facade neatly slipping back into place.

He chuckled. “As you like,” he murmured agreeably. Silently, they passed down block after block of Yorkshin’s dirty streets, two strangers amongst a crowd, their silhouettes soft whispers in the night.

As they made their way through the inky darkness, the glitter of those jewels from the display haunted Machi, having imprinted themselves in her memory. When she closed her eyes, she could see the dazzling objects taunting her behind her eyelids.

The seamstress tried not to blink.


	2. September 10th

It was evening when Shalnark came in, his emerald eyes scanning the interior of their hideout before landing on Machi. The seamstress knelt before a makeshift but carefully constructed cross, lighting candles around the small shrine.

“Machi.” He signalled for her attention and she looked up at him, her face passive and not revealing the regret she felt in her own heart. Pakunoda’s death had cast a gloom over the entire hideout. “There’s a package for you outside.”

“A package?” She stood up, frowning slightly, brushing dust from her bare knees.

“It’s got your name on it.” Shalnark scratched the back of his head. “I don’t think it’s dangerous, but I left it out on the step just in case. You can decide what to do with it.”

With a nod, Machi left the room and stepped outside where, sure enough there was a package sitting at the foot of the steps. It was pretty nondescript, wrapped in a brown paper and tied with cords. It was a small thing, and her name was written in a scrawl in the corner. Sensing no hostility coming from the object, she picked it up and carried it back inside, taking up her place before Pakunoda’s vigil once again.

Using her fingernail, she cut the strings around the package and the wrapping paper fell open to reveal a very fine, wooden box. The inlays were made of opal which glittered a multitude of colors in the candlelight. Her eyes widened as she stared at the object before lifting it, then opening the cover.

Inside sat a perfect pair of teardrop-shaped, diamond earrings.

She swallowed, tearing her eyes away from the flawless objects to examine what lay underneath the lacquer box. There were two playing cards. 

The queen of hearts.

The joker.

Agitated, she tore the cards into quarters, then eighths before burning them in the flame of the nearest candle. She couldn’t do so, however, without escaping the notice of her closest teammate.

“Are those from Hisoka?” The unsuspecting voice piped up innocently, and Machi turned to face her dark-haired teammate. “They’re nice.” This was added without judgement.

“They’re stolen,” Machi replied around the lump in her throat, not fully believing her own words.

Shizuku gave her a funny expression.  _ “That _ bothers you?” she asked, and Machi couldn’t blame her for feeling confused. It never stopped them from enjoying things before. 

“You know…” Shizuku continued, putting a finger to her lips in thought. “I’m sort of surprised.” Machi just stared at her, waiting for an explanation. “I didn’t think Hisoka was capable of thinking of someone other than himself. He doesn’t seem like that kind of a person.”

“He’s not,” Machi said harshly, though it was a general harshness and not directed at Shizuku.

The dark-haired girl furrowed her brow. “But those,” she pointed to the exquisite objects cushioned in Machi’s lap. “He went through the trouble of getting those for you, didn’t he?” The seamstress looked down at the glittering gemstones, wondering. “Stolen or not, that’s pretty weird.”

Cerulean eyes gazed at the diamonds, their kaleidoscopic quality having a slightly hypnotic effect on her. “It is,” Machi agreed, her harshness growing soft.

Past midnight, everyone had gone off to bed except for Shizuku, who had fallen asleep on the spot. Machi took the book she’d been reading from her limp fingers, placing it to the side before putting a blanket around Shizuku’s shoulders. The seamstress sat back down before Pakunoda’s cross, re-examining Hisoka’s gift to her.

She took the earrings out of the box, laying them flat on her palm and feeling the coldness of each tear against her skin. Whispers of a barren past flitted through her mind, poverty and isolation, living among the wasteland of Ryuseigai. Searching through refuse, the rejected lot of humanity, searching for something glittering among the dirty and dull.

Machi bit down on her lip.

She could picture his smile now… in her mind, she swore she would kill him the next time they met. For betraying the Ryodan. For betraying Danchou. She could never forgive him. And there was no doubt in her mind that they would meet again. The connection which drew them together, though Machi tried to fight it. It drew them close time and time again.

“This doesn’t mean anything,” she whispered to no one in particular, gently lifting the exquisite jewels between her fingertips. She paused, hesitating for a split second, before threading them through her earlobes.

The earrings clinked softly as she brushed her bangs behind an ear. She would have to get used to the sound, a reminder.

Machi closed her eyes, candlelight flickering behind her lids. 

“This doesn’t mean that I like you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, you guys! <3


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